In the construction of aircraft, fuselage and skin panels must be connected to aircraft frame structures. Traditionally, this has been done by means of rivets. In order to strengthen these skin panels as well as reduce their weight and radar cross section, they have been fabricated from advanced composite materials, such as graphite and epoxy. Such a composite is made up from epoxy impregnated graphite fibers, and during panel assembly the boring of rivet holes in such materials weakens the fiber structure and decreases the composite panel strength and fatigue resistance.
In order to avoid this problem, the prior art has included methods for attaching composite panels to aircraft frame structures which involve expensive adhesive bonding. Although adhesives have been formulated to perform satisfactorily, the expense is considerable and the attachment procedures are time consuming. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide the aircraft industry with a more expeditious and inexpensive means for connecting composite panels than currently available.